Vanessa McMahon

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CinefestOZ, Australia’s premier destination film festival, is delighted to announce that award-winning Australian feature film and documentary director Gillian Armstrong has accepted the role of Jury Chair for the 2016 Festival. Armstrong is one of Australia’s most successful and respected filmmakers. Her feature film directorial debut, My Brilliant Career, adapted from the breakthrough Miles Franklin feminist novel, was a huge success both here and abroad, launching the careers of iconic Australian actors Judy Davis and Sam Neill. Armstrong is also a highly lauded Producer, nominated for a 2015 AACTA and winning the ATOM award for best Arts documentary for Women He’s Undressed, the true life story of Australian costume designer and three time Oscar winner Orry-Kelly.

Gillian Armstrong said she is delighted and honoured to be invited back to the South West of Western Australia, this time as the Jury Chair. “I attended three years ago and was very impressed by the quality of the films and the warmth of the audience towards Australian films and filmmakers. It was both an enlightening and entertaining event with great seminars, films, wine and networking. Since then the Festival and the Film Prize have grown even more in status. CinefestOZ should be commended for its continued support of the Australian and Western Australian film industry,” Armstrong said.

“Gillian Armstrong is renowned in the screen industry. Her attendance at this year’s CinefestOZ as Jury Chair is great news for Western Australia’s film lovers and filmmakers," Culture and Arts Minister John Day said. “We look forward to welcoming her back to the State."

The CinefestOZ Film Prize encourages excellence in Australian filmmaking by providing a $100,000 financial award to an Australian feature film or feature-length documentary. In 2015, the second CinefestOZ Film Prize was won by the documentary Putuparri and the Rainmakers, which has since gone on to screen at Film Festivals in Tahiti and Toronto, has made its television debut and recently been nominated by the Film Critics Circle of Australia for Best Documentary. Armstrong’s own films have been recognised at the highest level, having been nominated for the Academy and Golden Globe Awards and receiving awards from the Australian Film Institute; the Film Critics Circle of Australia; the Houston Film Festival; Festival International de Creteil the US National Society of Film Critics; the British Critics Association and the British Academy. She will be joined on the 2016 CinefestOZ Film Prize Jury by a selection of esteemed film industry professionals to be announced soon. The full CinefestOZ film and event program and ticket sales go live on 31 July 2016. Early bird tickets will be available from 11 July at the CinefestOZ website: http://www.cinefestoz.com


CinefestOZ is supported by the State Government through Tourism WA’s Regional Events Program, which is funded by Royalties for Regions. Rio Tinto is a proud Premium Partner of CinefestOZ. The festival acknowledges its strong partnership with ScreenWest; Western Australia’s screen funding and development agency.